During the mid- 1930′s the United States Air Corps was in need of a bomber plane that could carry a huge bomb load that can help reinforce many other air forces across the country in the event of an attack. Boeing was contending against Martin and Douglas plane manufacturers and it was set that in order for the Air Corps to decide on a manufacturer there’d need to be a “fly-off” involving the Martin, Douglas, and the Boeing models.
Boeing’s model, the B-17 obtained a cruising rate of over 250 mph and could carry nearly 5000 pounds of bombs. What also helped established the Boeing plane aside from was it was entirely possible that the B-17 to still function if one of its engines were lost for what ever. Right after the “fly-off” the Boeing was the obvious winner. The Air Corps was pleased with the long range features of the B-17, granted owing to the designers at Boeing who had equipped their plane with four engines unlike the Martin and Douglas designs trusted twin engines.
The B-17, even though more costly to make as compared to its Martin and Douglas competitors, soon became a well liked tool of the Air Corps due to its ability to fly long flights, power to carry weighty loads, and how it can defend itself from attack thanks to lots machine guns placed on board. It was these expensive characteristics that gained the B-17 its famed moniker: The B-17 Flying Fortress.
As the United States switched its attention to World War II in 1941, the B-17 Flying Fortress turned its attention likewise. The very first deployments of the craft were unsuccessful and it was not until 1942 that the Air Corps’ latest weapon made a positive change on the war.
Associated with primarily daytime operations, the B-17 Flying Fortress was implemented mainly as a good weapon versus German U-Boats, warehouses, air fields, and plane factories. It was a really tough aircraft to bring down that the German Luftwaffe determined that’s would take about twenty hits to shoot just one right out of the sky. The Germans were so impressed by the B-17 Flying Fortress that they discovered and refurbished various B-17s which had crashed for their own use all through World War II.
The B-17 bomber was a successful aircraft that along with the Germans, the Soviet Union, Japan, as well as Great Britain have in addition obtained or rebuilt the aircraft for their own use. Eventhough its combat time was limited to the second World War. The B-17 bomber will probably be remembered as among the greatest wartime innovations ever. The aircraft enabled the United States to handle long missions which were previously impossible due to fuel and weight power. A number of B-17s could destroy entire airfields as well as enemy warehouses in one attack and uphold damage well enough to transport their pilots to safety. The B-17 Flying Fortress undoubtedly deserves recognition as being the plane that won the war.
